If all i say is I believe in Jesus, then go do whatever, I'm still going to heaven?

Question

I mean, I was SAVED. I said the little Billy Graham prayer. But I didn't do anything worthwhile my whole life. I'm going to heaven?

I think not. Paul doesn't say works are unneccessary. Quite the opposite.
Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. (Rom 11:6)

We are saved by grace alone, through faith that works

Paul cannot be accused of contradicting James anymore.

You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. (James 2:24)

Thoughts?

LOL! but the important part is I will be in heaven right?

No Brent they are not, that was my point.

Answer 1

Faith without works is dead....say you have faith all you want, but if you don't put your faith in action, salvation is far away.

All those that say 'Lord! Lord!' will not enter heaven.

Answer 2

If you are saved you will not have the same thoughts, or behavior you once had. You may have to work on yourself, but with the help of God one can become a great servant of the Lord.

Yes, we are saved by grace and faith in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit.

God's word says, "All we have to do is believe and ye shall be saved."

Many think if you are a good person you will go to heaven that is not true. Good works will not get you there, you must repent and do the Lord's work, helping those in need and living it.

Answer 3

The Bible says to repent and believe in the gospel. You didn't repent.

Mark 1:14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

Look at the verse you quoted.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This is stated right after Paul talks about being saved by grace and not works. Grace changes things. Good trees bear good frult. Evil trees bear evil fruit. You will know them by their fruit. The fruit (works) is not to earn salvation. It shows that our faith is real.

Faith is not mere intellectual ascent. It requires putting our trust in Jesus.

James 2:19 You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

Answer 4

Thoughts?

A LOT of people say the "little Billy Graham prayer"...which is the same thing as not saying anything at all.

The covenant of the New Testament offers salvation of the eternal soul thru Jesus, Son of the one true God. BUT, the person seeking to enter into (accept) this covenant must be sincere and repentant.

The repentant heart drives the Christian to do good works and to strive to keep Christ in his/her daily life. It's not a "vacuum" experience. It's life changing.

Answer 5

The truth is, if we do believe and love the Lord, would we still find it in us to fool around and do whatever we like? Loving Jesus means we wouldn't want to hurt Him by sinning. Of course, we are still going to sin and sin. But if we repent of it (ask forgiveness and sincerely try to not do it again), God offers us mercy and a new life. Our works are a manifestation of our faith. If we say we believe and not do what is pleasing to God, then something must be wrong with this so-called faith we have.

Answer 6

the thing really is whether you BELIEVE or not. saying you believe and saying a prayer is different from the biblical concept of BELIEF (or faith), which is genuine and from the heart.

the bible also says you must KEEP believing. its not a once off thing.

what james, john and paul ALL say is that genuine biblical faith will be evidenced by a love that can be seen by others.
you don't get faith by loving actions but rather if you want to know if you really have saving faith, then you can look at the reality of your love toward others. its an indicator.

Answer 7

Belief + Works = Faith

We are saved by faith. Ephesians 2:8

If you think you can say a few words and then live a life of wickedness you were never saved in the first place.

The way we can know we have become saved is that we have repented of our sins and now live a new life that is pleasing to God. We first become saved and then our life becomes changed. But we never change our life around to become saved. If that change never manifests itself through good works that are pleasing in God's sight, then we should ask ourself the question... have I really become saved?

Answer 8

well, i personally believe, you need to believe in and love God and accept Him as your lord and savior and believe that Jesus is the son of God. God willl always forgive you but i think you need to atleast try to make an honest attempt at life, everyone has different opinions on this but God will definatly forgive you for your mistakes, but that doesnt mean you should go crazy and be careless and do what ever you want

Answer 9

Paul was saying that we are justified by grace before God, and James is saying that we are justified before men by our works. There is no contradiction.

A believer is one that is a doer of the word, and not a hearer only.

Answer 10

Amen! Great question to put on someones mind and don't forget to add to the ones who think they can do anything after being saved that the wages of sin is death and if you are saved and think you will go to heaven when you die, then that day may be sooner than you want it to.

Answer 11

The New Jerusalen comes down out heavens from God. That means that going to heaven is not something that the Bible teaches, it teaches being in God as the temple and us being God tabernacle as his dwelling place. So the most important thing is to be in God, not in heavens. We are not going to be in heavens. There is not such a thing.